Donor DNA taken up by Streptococcus pneumoniae competent for genetic transformation is converted into single strand fragments a few microns long, which eventually recombine with the cell chromosome. These fragments are found in a specific complex with a small protein that is synthesized only as cell develop the ability to take up DNA. At maximum competence, protein synthesis is limited to this and about eight other principal proteins. The proposed research will apply biochemical and genetic techniques to characterize and isolate these other competence-specific proteins, and to investigate their possible roles in genetic recombination.